Bill Mittlefehldt: My mother was a teacher.
My dad was a public servant, a probation officer. I grew up respecting
public service. There are many people in our country today who undervalue
public service, which I find very ironic in that it has helped us become
the strongest nation on the planet with some of the strongest democratic
institutions.

When I was in college, I was [preparing] for the Peace Corps. Part of
my training was in Brooklyn in 1967. It was a tremendous eye-opening experience
for me. I lived next to Bedford-Stuyvesant, which is not your nicest neighborhood
if you’re an outsider. I was an outsider, but the people were very
decent to me. It just kind of opened the world to my suburban brain. I
was a young man at that time. Cities were burning, and we were in the
midst of Vietnam and civil rights, and I thought it would be hypocritical
for me to go to another country to help them with their problems when
my own country was so confused and conflicted. So I changed my major.
I decided to go into education so I could get involved in a hands-on way
in my own country. I graduated in ’68 with a degree in education
and I decided that I needed to go on and further my [education] because
I was kind of a late bloomer intellectually. I went to Chicago Theological
Seminary. I got two Master’s degrees from there. Then I went to
teach for two years in the Chicago suburbs. My wife and I decided we’d
come to Minnesota and raise Minnesotans and we were fortunate to get jobs
teaching here. I got another Master’s degree in curriculum and instructional
systems at the University. I also taught at a Chicago reform school and
because of my background in Brooklyn, it was a great introduction to what’s
going on in those kids’ psyches.